Delhi: Burning paint was flowing in the drains after fire, say locals

A paint factory in Alipur, India, caught fire, killing 11 workers. Some residents managed to escape while others lost their homes and belongings.

Govinda (who goes by his single name), 18, was at his home when the paint factory in Alipur where he worked went up in flames, killing 11 of his colleagues. The 18-year-old labourer had gone for lunch at his house nearly, and stayed back as he was not feeling well.

New Delhi, India - February 16, 2024: A View of paint godown and near by shops that caught fire last night, resulting in the death of 11 people in Alipur, in New Delhi on Friday, February 16, 2024. (Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Most of the victims and the locals lived in the Nehru Enclave locality in Alipur.

However, he had to rush out of his house when it caught fire along with other nearby homes. “I was lucky I took a lunch break and didn’t return to work, as I wasn’t feeling well. I woke up when my bed caught fire. I got scared and thought it was a kitchen fire. I rushed outside and saw all other houses nearby were also up in flames. Shopkeepers were running around and women were screaming. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and just ran to save my life,” he said.

Other local residents said they got no time to escape and save their homes as the fire spread quickly from one building to another.

More than 15-20 houses were gutted in the fire, they said. According to them, the fire from the factory spread through two open drains flowing nearby as the paint and chemicals from the factory got mixed with the water in the drains and it caught fire.

Mohammad Ali, 20, a local resident who works at an e-commerce delivery company, said, “I was resting when the fire broke out. I heard people’s screams and woke up. I saw the fire spreading to my house. I had to jump from the stairs as the smoke was coming up. I managed to escape in time and called the fire department. We were all running around helplessly. Our houses and vehicles have all burnt. By the time, the fire tenders reached the spot, everything had been gutted.

Arti Devi, 32, who lives with her husband in a two-room house on rent, said she had no time to pick up anything. “The children woke me up. The factory is in front of our house. I had no time to think. I picked up the kids and jumped outside the house.Within an hour, our scooter all our furniture was gone,” she said.

It was around 4.40pm that some people heard screams from the factory and saw the blaze had consumed the building . “I was taking a break from work when I heard people screaming. When I stepped out I saw there was a blast... The workers were trapped inside and the fire had spread to the de-addiction building. I saw people running for safety and followed them. We had called the fire service at 5pm but they came an hour late. The fire had spread to all the nearby buildings and shops,” said Abhishek Kumar, who works at Flipkart, who is in his 20s.